Allen Bradley Tag/Alias Question

Gentlemen,

I've got 33 of these drives that I'm installing. They're all based on generic ethernet modules so once I create them it produces the tag structure seen below:



What I would like to do is create a generic alias(?) template with comments so that I'm not having to add comments to each drive's words/bits. I would like for it to be a datatype but I don't believe that is possible? Each of word 0's bits are individual command references while the other 9 words are specific references.

What would be the best way to go about this?

I can't tell if the image actually shows. Work blocks most image hosts. Here is the URL:
http://d16i.imgup.net/uncoiler_t9a45.jpg

If you add descriptions to the base Tag in the Controller Tag Database, a tag that is Aliased to that tag will inherit the descriptions.

That's probably the simplest way to go ahead and Alias directly to the INT[x] array.

If you create a User-Defined Datatype and a Tag with that datatype, you can Copy the data from the generic module INT[x] array into and out of those tags. That's typically how I do it, in "Input Handling" and "Output Handling" subroutines. I prefer to use the Copy Synchronous (CPS) instruction to avoid any issues with asynchronicity.

What about if you create 2 UDTs as alias one for input and one for output and use COP or CPS to uddate them.

This is how I've done it in the past:


http://q36i.imgup.net/2016-08-1806b0.jpg

Out of the 33 drives, there are 2 types, so 28 are one type and 5 are the other.

I guess if I created a user defined data type I would need to create 16 bools followed by 9 words and use CPS to populate them. That way I could add the comments.

It might be simpler just to export all of the tags to excel and update them from there? I was just hoping to use something that linked them all together.

I'm still thinking that is much better and clearer if you use UDTs.

Like so?:
http://i44i.imgup.net/2016-08-1804ca.jpg

Then just use CPS to copy data over?

yes, but instead of test you can write real info like "speed_ok", "healthy" for instance, and then use cps or cop to update, either inputs or outputs.
In your case you have to create 4 UDTS only, since you have only two different kind of drives. Two UDTs for inputs and two UDTs por outputs.

Yeah, that was just a test run. It's a template for my templates Thank you very much sir.